1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to coordinating activities associated with the movement of vehicles into and out of a staging area, and more particularly, to systems and associated methods for automating vehicle inventory and dispatch procedures at such a location.
2. Description of Related Art
Within a transportation network, staging areas play a critical role in attempting to ensure that goods are transported throughout the transportation network in an efficient and reliable manner. As used herein, a “staging area” can be defined as any processing or exchange point within a transportation network, including, but not limited to, a delivery hub, a vehicle exchange point, a rail yard, an air terminal, a shipping port, or any other such point through which delivery vehicles and cargo containers pass. An important aspect of ensuring that a staging area itself operates in an efficient and reliable manner is the need to have systems and methods in place for coordinating the flow of vehicles that haul such goods to and from the staging area on a daily basis.
For example, when a delivery truck arrives at a hub location, the driver of the vehicle preferably needs to be aware of certain information, such as where to drop off the inbound load which he or she is transporting. Typically, the delivery driver also needs to be informed as to whether or not he or she will subsequently be transporting a new, outbound load. If the driver is assigned a new, outbound load, he or she must be given information on how to identify and locate the particular load within the delivery hub, and on where to go with the load after leaving the hub. In the case of a rail yard, the delivery vehicle may be a train that includes a plurality of freight cars in which each freight car contains one or more shipping containers. When the train arrives at the rail yard, some or all of the containers may need to be removed from the train and placed in particular locations within the yard. Meanwhile, other containers already residing in the rail yard may need to be loaded onto the train so that they can be shipped to a new location.
Yet another example can include an air terminal where various types of delivery vehicles are used to pull “trains” of “igloos” (or air containers) into and out of a staging area so that such containers can be loaded onto and off of airplanes. In the case of containers coming into the staging area, dispatch personnel (or systems) would typically need to have methods of determining such things as when such containers arrive at the staging area and where each such container is going.
To ensure that these and other such events occur in an organized and systematic fashion, shipping companies such as UPS® have developed various methods for managing the flow of vehicles at staging areas within a transportation network. For example, one prior art method of coordinating events at a delivery hub (or other staging area) involves having a call box or telephone positioned at least one of the gates associated with the delivery hub (or other staging area). When a delivery truck arrives at the hub (or other staging area), the driver is expected to use the call box to manually call a dispatch center for instructions on how to proceed. The dispatch center is responsible for providing the driver, via the call box, with the type of information mentioned above, such as where to drop off an inbound load, where or how to locate the driver's next outbound load, and where to go with an outbound load after leaving the hub (or other staging area). One problem with this method is that the process frequently takes as long as fifteen to twenty minutes for each delivery vehicle. In many cases the waiting time for each vehicle is effectively doubled because a similar process is required for all outbound vehicles.
Another problem that presently occurs at delivery hubs (or other staging area(s)) is that drivers frequently pull out and leave with the wrong outbound loads. In the current operating environment, unique vehicle identification numbers are typically associated with each delivery vehicle and with each trailer (or container placed on/in a trailer, rail car, airplane, etc.) operating within a transportation network. According to one prior art method, each vehicle identification number is displayed in a human-readable format on a label affixed to an outer surface of each such vehicle (or container). By receiving a vehicle identification number from the dispatch center at the hub (or other staging area), a delivery driver is able to identify the particular outbound trailer (or other vehicle) that the driver is assigned to leave with. When the driver locates a trailer that appears to contain the correct vehicle identification number, the driver pulls the trailer and exits the delivery hub (or other staging area).
Another time-consuming event in the currently known art relates to dealing with a door seal attached to the rear door of the trailers. Preferably, these seals discourage unauthorized entry into the trailer when the trailer is outside the hub (or other staging area). Under one version of the currently known prior art, the tractor/trailer operator (a.k.a. the “driver”) must stop at an inbound gate and check in with a designated individual, who then cuts the door seal on the vehicle. The process takes anywhere between 7 and 15 minutes. A similar delay can be encountered when a fresh seal is placed on the door of an outbound trailer.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved system and method of coordinating the activities associated with the flow of vehicles at a delivery hub or other staging area that allows for expedited dispatch procedures.